The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 is finally here in the Philippines and it is set to shake the mid-range segment as the smartphone is powered by a pretty powerful Snapdragon 660 chipset and up to 6GB of RAM. The smartphone will also come with 5000mAh of battery which is the trademark of the Zenfone Max family. Not just that, the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 will also come with Gorilla Glass 6 and also AI cameras.
The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 introduces a big leap of design on the ASUS Zenfone Max family as this now sports glass build on the front and back. The smartphone also uses a notched display with Full HD+ resolution and it has really vibrant colors. Just like the Zenfone Max Pro M1, the Zenfone Max Pro M2 features stock Android inside and it is expected to be updated to Android 9.0 soon.
ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 Specs
6.3-inch Full HD+ all-screen IPS Display with Gorilla Glass 6
Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 Octa-Core chipset
4GB/6GB RAM
64GB Internal Storage expandable via MicroSD
12MP+5MP Rear Camera with AI
13MP Front camera
Dual SIM, LTE
Fingerprint Scanner
Face Unlock
5000mAh Battery
Stock Android 8.1 Oreo with coming upgrade to Android 9.0
The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 will come in these variants and prices:
ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 4GB/64GB – Php12,995
ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 6GB/64GB – Php14,995
The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 will be available in the Philippines this December 15.
You may now pre-order the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 4GB/64GB at Lazada and Shopee starting today.
A lot of us still has a TV in our living room but unlike before, most of us are now relying on Netflix on our living rooms instead of cable TVs as using this app offers more flexibility to watch content, movies, and their exclusive titles.
And now, LG and Netflix have come together to bring you the best viewing experience in your living room as they’ll be bringing the LG B8 OLED TV in the Philippines. The OLED TVs from LG is a partnership made in TV heaven as these are TVs that are recommended by Netflix. It’s actually hard to have an official Netflix Recommended TV as the streaming company requires the following criteria: fast app launch, a dedicated Netflix button, easy access to Netflix icon from the TV Menu, TV resume function and having the latest version of Netflix TV app with all of its latest features.
These new TVs from LG features the ThinQ AI technology with Google assistant, intelligent processor and LG’s OLED display. Of course, there’s the 4K HDR which will bring a more immersive experience along with the advanced Dolby Atmos sound system.
LG is also proud of their flagship and notable 55-inch B8, also known as LG 30th anniversary OLED TV with a7 Intelligent processor that can switch through TV to Netflix to browsing the internet really fast. There’s the Full Array Dimming Pro on the OLED display too with its crystal clear Nano Cell Color Pro Display which is the most competitively priced OLED TV in the PH market today.
If you want to have the best Netflix experience in your living room, head over to Abenson, SM Appliance center, or Anson’s to experience the LG B8 OLED TV and get six months of free access to Netflix!
The Huawei Nova 3i is definitely a success in the Philippines and it is one of the hottest mid-range smartphones in the country. The smartphone features a quad-camera, notched display, Kirin 710 chipset inside, and also a beautiful gradient twilight color which is one of its main assets.
And now, the company has launched the Pearl White Nova 3i which features the same specifications and also the same price. To add a Christmas feel to the launch of the smartphone, Huawei also let the Filipino consumers experience snow at SM Aura.
The Huawei Nova 3i in Pearl White is a great Christmas gift as it has a sleek and clean look thanks to its colors and the company is also having their Huawei Christmas Grand promotion in where the company is giving away freebies for each purchase of Huawei devices.
For those who are craving for a mid-range smartphone, the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 is launching this December 11. Well, we only have a few details yet about the smartphone but ASUS has fully revealed the design of the smartphone.
The ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 will feature a notched display similar to the ASUS Zenfone 5 and it will have a dual lens camera. The rendered photo also suggests that the smartphone will have a glass back which is a first on a Zenfone Max family.
ASUS has also teased us with this photo which also suggests that the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 will have an 8-core processor, 5000mAh battery, Gorilla Glass 6, and AI cameras.
2018 is a good year for Huawei as the company not only released the successful Huawei P20 series which is a game changer but also different mid-range smartphones such as the Nova series. But before we end the year, the company has also launched the Huawei Mate 20 Series which is the company’s most powerful and smartest smartphone ever. Not only that, the smartphone’s camera is still its main highlighted feature. Interested? Then check on our review of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro review below.
Design and hardware
Huawei has always wanted to have the best-looking smartphone in the market and they never failed to impress us with the twilight color of the Huawei P20 Series and also its design and with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, we’ll be getting a square camera design that houses the Leica Triple Lens camera and also a flash. But of course, the aesthetics of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is something really pleasing.
With the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, we’ll be getting a 3D smooth glass on the front and also a curved glass back. The one that we got comes in twilight color and unfortunately, this one doesn’t come with a texture, unlike the Emerald Green which adds friction and adds a non-slip and anti-fingerprint surface. But don’t worry because the design of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is really ergonomic to hold.
At the top of the smartphone is an IR blaster that you can use for different appliances such as TV and air conditioners and then on the right we got the volume rocker and the power button which has a red hue. Below, you can see the USB-C port and also the card tray in where it can house a sim card and a nano-memory card which is Huawei’s newest external memory solution.
Missing here again is the 3.5mm headphone jack but don’t worry because the smartphone does come with a dongle. You can also use the headphone included in the smartphone which is a USB-C headphone. Another thing you might notice that is missing in the smartphone is the fingerprint scanner, well, it’s because the Huawei Mate 20 Pro now uses an in-display fingerprint scanner and it was pretty damn fast. Actually, it’s the fastest in-display fingerprint scanner that I’ve tried.
Unlike the Huawei Mate 20, this one has a larger notch which gave way for more sensors that you can use for facial recognition. In our experience, it was fast and most of the time, I don’t even use the fingerprint scanner anymore. And yes, the facial recognition of the smartphone works even at dark conditions.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro also features IP68 certification which means that the smartphone is dust and water resistant so you don’t have to worry about the smartphone dipping in the pool or some annoying dust and sand. But of course, I would still suggest that you stay away from dipping the Mate 20 Pro on salt water.
Display
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro has the company’s best smartphone display. It might be smaller than the Huawei Mate 20 and the Mate 20X but the curved glass of the Mate 20 Pro is just lovely and it’s really screaming that it’s a smartphone that emphasizes beauty and elegance. Well, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro features a 2K+ OLED display and it does not disappoint. The colors of the display of the smartphone are really well and the colors are really well on the smartphone.
The smartphone’s display is also bright enough to be used at direct sunlight and I really appreciate that the Mate 20 Pro’s curved display doesn’t really warp much of the images, videos, and in gaming. Thankfully, the notch of the smartphone can be turned off and the notch doesn’t block much of the games that I’ve played including Ragnarok Online M: Eternal love.
Performance
inside the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is a Kirin 980 chipset which is the most advance chipset that the company has ever made. It’s fabricated at 7mm which is also the most advance in the industry today. It has a far more advance AI compared to the previous generation but could mostly notice that when you open the camera.
When it comes to performance, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro doesn’t disappoint as it delivers everything that you need on gaming. We played different games on the smartphone including PUBG Mobile, Asphalt 9, Real Racing 3, and Ragnarok Online M: Eternal Love and we got a decent experience on all of them and I was able to play all games at decent FPS. Unfortunately, Gamebench on our PC had an issue connecting to the smartphone.
When it comes to benchmarks, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has definitely amazed us with its powerful prowess, the smartphone got the highest score on Antutu in all of the smartphone that we’ve tested and while the smartphone doesn’t have the highest score in GPU in Antutu, we’re still amazed that the Huawei Mate 20 Pro managed to break the 300k mark in Antutu. The other benchmark scores really showed that the CPU of the Kirin 980 is really powerful. We didn’t include 3DMark as the benchmarking application isn’t working well on the smartphone.
Another amazing thing about the Kirin 980 chipset of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is that it was able to display EMUI desktop on an external display wirelessly and then I can use the smartphone as a keyboard or a touchpad. Pretty powerful huh.
The battery life of the smartphone was pretty amazing too as were able to get a score of 10 hours and 38 minutes in PC Mark 2.0 Battery tests and in our real life usage, the smartphone was able to last up to a day with around 15% battery left before going to bed with average use of gaming, heavy social networking site usage, and average usage of camera.
Camera
My oh my, the camera of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is something that will really blow your mind. One of the amazing things that the Huawei P20 series has introduced is the handheld night shot mode of the smartphone and with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, it gets better as the Huawei Mate 20 Pro features a better color saturation at night and it’s more vivid during night shots. Since we’re getting a wide-angle lens on the smartphone, we’re getting wider shots and yes, you can also do night shots on the smartphone’s wide-angle lens. Check out the shots that I took using the smartphone below.
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The shots that I took were better than the Huawei P20 series which holds the highest score in DxOmark but the difference between the P20 Pro and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro isn’t really that big but it’s really noticeable. Most of the shots were sharper too and better on the Mate 20 Pro.
Another cool thing about the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the smarter Kirin 980 chipset which allows us to capture videos in portrait mode and it can separate the objects from the background and it lets you have a cool effect on the videos.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is definitely the best Android smartphone for photography that you can now officially purchase in the Philippines.
Verdict
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro didn’t fail to impress us. The smartphone actually exceeded my expectations and I was really amazed at its design and also its performance. The camera setup has been changed but the camera quality of the smartphone has been improved over the P20 series. The display is a lot better too and with the curved display, it looks sexier. The Kirin 980 chipset inside is also a lot powerful in benchmarks compared to other chipsets.
However, we still don’t have a headphone jack on the smartphone and you might be turned off with its usage of Nano memory card in which Huawei has introduced. Despite that, we still love every aspect of the smartphone.
The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is now available for Php49,990
Yes, we got a chance to play with the Realme C1 even before the smartphone was launched. The smartphone will be available tomorrow for an affordable price of Php5,990 for the regular price and a flash sale price of Php5,490 tomorrow but if you are still unsure about the smartphone, we have here our unboxing and hands-on.
Basically, the Realme C1 is the twin brother of the OPPO A3s. It has an identical design and it features the same specifications. The OPPO A3s is really popular as the smartphone is really affordable and its hardware and design do perform and it looks pretty good. If you want to know more about the OPPO A3s’ twin brother then check out our unboxing and hands-on video of the Realme C1 below.
Realme C1 Specs
6.2-inch HD+ display, 88.8% screen-to-body ratio
Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Processor
2GB RAM
16GB Internal storage expandable via MicroSD up to 256GB
Christmas is coming again and ASUS wants to bring in some freebies and also some items to those who’ll be purchasing ASUS and ROG notebooks and just the company will be bundling items worth up to Php50,000! If you’re planning on buying selected ROG, TUF FX Series, or ASUS notebooks then you’ll be able to get some freebies. Check out the eligible ASUS notebooks and also its bundled items below.
ROG Champion’s Pack + Gaming USB Keyboard and Mouse + ROG Champion’s Pack**
up to PHP 8,000 worth of freebies
If you’re buying select ASUS Zenbooks, Vivobooks and X series notebooks then check out the bundled items below.
UNIT MODEL
BUNDLED ITEMS
Select ASUS ZenBook laptops (i5/i7 variant)
Php 1,500 Sperry Gift Certificate + ZenBook Sleeve or Nereus Bag worth Php 2,995 (in store Bundle)
Select ASUS ZenBook laptops (i3 variant)
Php 1,000 Sperry Gift Certificate + Nereus Bag worth Php 2,995 (in store Bundle)
Select VivoBook Series laptops (including S variant)
Php 1,000 Sperry Gift Certificate +Nereus Bag worth Php 2,995 (in store Bundle)
Select ASUS X Series laptops
Php 500 Sperry Gift Certificate + Nereus Bag worth Php 2,995 (in store Bundle)
The Share 2018 promo will run up to December 31, 2018 so if you’re buying a brand new ASUS notebook then be sure to get one before the year ends. To know more about these products, head over to http://asusphilippinespromo.ph/ for the full mechanics and complete details of the ASUS and ROG Share 2018 Christmas Promo.
The Realme C1 is definitely a hot entry-level Android smartphone as it features a large 6.2-inch HD+ notched display, a Snapdragon 450 chipset inside and also a large 4230mAh battery which will surely last a day of usage. The Realme C1 will be available tomorrow at Lazada with a flash sale for a discounted price of Php5,490 and if you’re planning to get one tomorrow, you can even get it at a cheaper price.
Here’s how you can get the Realme C1 for only Php4,690. First you must be a JCB card user and just use the JCBGET30 code at Lazada and you’ll be able to save Php800 from the flash sale price of Realme C1 and get it for as low as Php4,690.
But if you’re not a JCB card user, don’t worry because there are still some other ways to get Realme C1 at a discounted price.
Option 1
You can avail the Lazada Wallet 12% bonus by just loading your Lazada Wallet and get additional 12% for a maximum credit of Php240.
Use the code LAZWALLET12 to get extra 12% on your orders.
You can get a total savings of Php360
Option 2
If you are a BDO card user, you can use the code BDOVISA300 for a discount of Php300 for a minimum spend of Php3,000. (1 time use until December 12 only)
Option 3
You can pay via GCash on Lazada for 10% discount that is capped at Php100 by using the code GCASH10
Option 4
Get Php200 off by using your BDO MasterCard debit with the code BDOMCDEBIT
Option 5
Use the code RBANK400 using your Robinsons Credit Card for 15% or up to Php400 discount
2019 is an exciting year for Microsoft as the company is expected to launch foldable smartphone next year and it’s codenamed as Project Andromeda according to the book “Beneath a Surface” by a journalist and Microsoft techblog Thurrot.com collaborator Brad Sams.
The book has detailed that the Project Andromeda as a compact Surface-class device that can turn a phone into a tablet size by just folding it with Full Windows running inside.
Not only that, but the book has also revealed that Microsoft Surface Laptops may use AMD chips instead of Intel, a new Xbox console, a new Surface Studio, and a competitor to the Apple iPad Pro 12.9, a Surface tablet with USB-C port, thin bezels, and rounded corners.
Lenovo aims to bring more notebooks in the PH market as the company has launched their newest notebooks which are powered by AMD. Yes, these notebooks will be running AMD processors along withVega GPU which are known to be capable enough to run even modern games at an enjoyable framerate. So what are these products that catch our eyes? Check em’ out below.
Lenovo Ideapad 130
This is their affordable offering and it features a 15.6-inch display with FHD anti-glare resolution. It’s powered by AMD A9-9425 processor and AMD Radeon 530 graphics up to 8GB DDR4 memory and 1TB HDD storage. This notebook is made for the people who are on a budget and they just want a decent laptop for themselves. This notebook starts at Php16,995
Lenovo Ideapad 330
If you are still on the budget but you need a notebook for entertainment then the Ideapad 330 is for you as the 14-inch version features an AMD Stoney Ridge A9-9425 processor, 2TB HDD, and 8GB RAM while the 15-inch version features up to Ryzen 7 2700U processor with RX Vega 10 GPU, 2TB HDD, & 16GB RAM. The Lenovo Ideapad starts at Php20,995
Lenovo Ideapad 330S
This one also comes in AMD A9-9425 processor and the 14-inch model is only 0.75-inches thin and it weighs 3.7 lbs. The 15-inch model starts at 0.76-inches thin and 4.1lbs and the bigger version can also have up to AMD Ryzen 7 2700U processor with RX Vega 10 GPU and up to AMD Radeon 540 GPU with 8GB RAM and 2TB SATA HDD. The Lenovo Ideapad 330S starts at Php30,995
Lenovo Ideapad 720s
The Lenovo Ideapad 720S is one of the lightest notebooks in the market at 1.14kg and 13.6mm thin. The notebook is powered by the powerful Ryzen 7 2700U CPU and a Radeon Vega Mobile Graphics, 512GB SSD, and 8GB RAM. But of course, this one comes with a price of Php59,995.
Lenovo Yoga 530
The Yoga series is one of the known convertible series notebooks of Lenovo and the Yoga 530 has a 360-degree hinge that allows you to use the notebook in different modes. The Yoga 530 runs on AMD Ryzen 7 2700U CPU, RX Vega 10 GPU, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB PCIe SSD. The price starts at Php34,995.
